2008 Olympian and Olympic Trials record holder Kara Patterson set an American record in the women’s javelin Friday evening at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. The championships will run through Sunday.
The USA Outdoor Championships are the third stop of the 2010 USATF Outdoor Visa Championship Series, which concludes July 3 with the Nike Prefontaine Classic from historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Tickets for the 2010 USA Outdoor Championships, which run through Sunday, June 27, may be purchased by dialing 515-271-3647 or by visiting www.godrakebulldogs.com.
Patterson dominates women’s javelin field with American record
Former Purdue standout and 2009 Big Ten champion Kara Patterson won her second consecutive U.S. women’s javelin throw title with her final attempt that soared to 66.67m/218-8, which bettered the previous AR of 64.19m/210-7 set by Kim Kreiner in 2007.
Earlier in the competition, Patterson twice hurled the spear to the third-farthest distance in U.S. history, beginning with her third-round throw of 62.61m/205-5, followed by her toss in the fifth-round of 62.80m/206-0. Patterson’s impressive performance makes her the 13th best performer all-time.
Two-time NCAA Outdoor champion and 2009 World Outdoor Championships finalist Rachel Yurkovich was the runner-up to Patterson with a best of 56.31m/184-9, with 2009 USA Champs fourth-place finisher Alicia deShasier taking third with a toss of 55.53m/182-2.
Felix captures Nike Women’s 100m title
Two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time World Outdoor champion in the 200 meters, Allyson Felix won her first U.S. Nike Women’s 100m championship this evening after taking the lead for good with 40 meters to go.
Felix and the rest of the field were hindered by a 2.5 meters-per-second headwind, with Felix emerging as the convincing winner in 11.27 seconds. Her previous best 100m finish at Nationals was fourth in 2007. 2008 Olympic Trials eighth-place finisher LaShaunte’a Moore was the runner-up in 11.34, with 2005 World Outdoor long jump champion Tianna Madison finishing third in 11.43.
Dix wins Visa Men’s 100 Meters
2008 Olympic Games 100m and 200m bronze medalist Walter Dix convincingly won the first U.S. men’s 100m title of his career with his time of 10.04 seconds, run into a 1.5 mps wind.
Following the gun the field was even until the 70m mark when Dix, who endured an injury-plagued season in 2009, found his stride. Dix continued to gradually lengthen his lead until crossing the finish line well ahead of runner-up Trell Kimmons, who finished in 10.27. Ivory Williams was third in 10.29, with Wallace Spearmon fourth in 10.30. One of the favorites leading up to the final, Travis Padgett, who finished fourth in this event the last two years, was disqualified due to a false start.
Fleshman wins highly competitive women’s 5,000m
Two-time NCAA champion Lauren Fleshman won the second U.S. 5,000m title of her career when she crossed the finish line first in 15:27.70.
Fleshman, who first won this event in 2006 and has been ranked in the Top Ten in the U.S. every year from 2002 to 2008, held off runner-up and four-time Big East Outdoor champion Molly Huddle (15:30.89) for the win. 2008 Olympic Games and 2009 World Outdoor Championships finalist Jenny Barringer, who won this event last year, finished third in 15:33.33
Lagat wins Nike Men’s 5,000m
A slow pace set the table perfectly for kicker supreme Bernard Lagat, who captured the fourth U.S. Outdoor 5,000m title of his glorious career.
Lagat was in second place when he turned on the afterburners and grabbed the lead with 70 meters remaining in the race. 10,000m specialist Tim Nelson gave chase down the main straightaway but was unable to catch Lagat, who crossed the finish line first in 13:54.08. Nelson finished second after a gallant effort in 13:54.80, with seven-time NCAA All-American Andrew Bumbalough of Georgetown, who placed third at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing third in 13:55.16.
Patience pays off for Bell
Two-time Olympian Kenta Bell has been trying for seven years to win his second career U.S. men’s outdoor triple jump crown and his wait is finally over.
Bell captured his first national championship since 2003 when he soared to 17.02m/55-10.25 (+2.0 mps) on his third attempt. Since winning his first U.S. crown, Bell has finished second three times and third on two occasions. 2010 NCAA Outdoor champ Christian Taylor of the University of Florida was the runner-up with a best of 16.76m/55-0, with Lawrence Willis finishing third at 16.69m/54-9.25.
Malone wins again in men’s discus
It took 12 years for two-time Olympian Casey Malone to win his first U.S. title in the men’s discus, and now winning this event has become routine.
Malone won his second consecutive national championship with his third-round throw of 62.57m/205-3. The fifth-place finisher at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Malone finished just ahead of Texas Tech strength coach and current U.S. leader (#2 in the world) Jason Young, who had a best throw of 61.15m/200-7. Young’s second-place performance at Nationals is the best of his career.
Freeman wins first hammer title
Jake Freeman won his first career national hammer throw championship after 11 years of trying with his second attempt toss in the final of 76.51m/251-0. Freeman, who finished as the runner-up in this event in 2005 and 2009, finished ahead of runner-up and 2007 World Outdoor Championships team member Kibwe Johnson, who posted a best of 76.31m/250-4.
Former Mountain West Conference champion Andrew Lofton finished third (75.42m/247-5), with two-time Olympian and four-time USA Outdoor champion A.G. Kruger fourth (73.90m/242-5).
Hollis wins Gill Men’s Pole Vault
Two-time NAIA champion Mark Hollis captured his first national Gill Men’s Pole Vault title with his winning clearance of 5.60m/18-4.50, which is the identical height he conquered in winning the 2010 Millrose Games in New York City.
Finishing as the runner-up was 2008 Olympic Games fourth-place finisher Derek Miles, who had a best clearance of 5.60m/18-4.50. Jason Colwick finished third at 5.50m/18-0.50.
Pappas, Fountain lead combined events competitions
Five-time national champion and 2003 world champion Tom Pappas leads the men’s decathlon after the first day of competition. Pappas’ second-best shot put throw of his career of 16.87m/55-4.25 helped propel him to the lead with 4,234 points, with Trinity Otto of Texas A&M in second place with 4,152 points.
2008 Olympic Games silver medalist Hyleas Fountain holds a commanding lead after Day 1 of the 24 Hour Fitness Women’s Heptathlon. Fountain posted a personal best in the high jump of 1.90m/6-2.75 en route to a total of 4,068 points. 2009 USA Champs third-place finisher Bettie Wade is in second place with 3,603 points.
Stadium records set in 800m qualifying
2007 World Outdoor Championships team member Duane Solomon led all men’s 800m semi-final qualifiers with his Drake Stadium record time of 1:45.23, which bettered the previous standard of 1:45.31 set by Jacob Hernandez in 2008.
In Nike Women’s 800m semi-final action, 2007 USA Outdoor champion Alysia Johnson set the Drake Stadium record of 1:59.43, which improved greatly upon the previous standard of 2:01.68 by Suzy Favor Hamilton in 1998.
Top Qualifiers
The following athletes posted the top performances in their respective events in qualifying competition.
Men’s 400m – 2009 USA Junior champion Tavaris Tate – 45.00
Visa Men’s 1,500m – 2008 Olympic Games & 2009 World Outdoor Champs 5,000m finalist Matt Tegenkamp – 3:39.57
Hershey Men’s 400m Hurdles – 2008 Olympic Games and 2009 World Outdoor Champs bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson – 48.36
Men’s 3,000m steeplechase – 2009 USA Outdoor Champs runner-up Dan Huling – 8:40.85
Women’s 100 meters – 2004 Olympian LaShaunte’a Moore – 11.37
Nike Women’s 400m – 2010 World Indoor Champion Debbie Dunn – 50.97
Women’s 100m Hurdles – 2008 Olympic finalis Lolo Jones – 12.82
Women’s 400m Hurdles – 2008 Olympic Games silver medalist Sheena Tosta – 56.47
USA Outdoor Championships network television weekend coverage
The 2010 USA Outdoor Championships will be televised on the following dates (All times Central):
June 26 — 12 – 1:30 p.m. on ESPN
June 26 — 2 – 3 p.m. on NBC
June 27 — 12 – 1:30 p.m. on ESPN
June 27 — 2 – 3 p.m. on NBC
USA Track & Field, in conjunction with RunnerSpace, is providing real-time coverage of all events not broadcast on television. Highlighted competitions in the webcast include Thursday’s men’s and women’s 10,000m as well as extensive field event coverage. Webcasts will also include the voices of elite athletes as guest commentators. The webcasts will be found on the USATF 2010 Championships page in addition to an already posted video clip from USATF CEO Doug Logan on the partnership at www.usatf.org